Just Missed The Train
by TemptingFate
Summary: Rory's life is finally on track. She has Jess, Yale, and of course, her mom. Nobody could derail her from her seemingly perfect life, or so she thought. But the return of someone long forgotten makes her question all she believes to be true.
1. Homecomings

Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
  
Summary: Jess never left Stars Hollow. He agreed to Luke's plan and is finishing high school while living above the diner. Rory attends Yale, but her and Jess are still together. What happens when someone from her past returns, determined to win her heart?  
  
-Chapter 1-  
  
Rory stepped off the bus with a smile on her face as her eyes swept over the familiar streets of Stars Hollow. Home always felt good after a grueling week at school. After a quick stop at her empty house, she headed over to Luke's, to find her mom sitting at the counter, a cup of coffee clutched in her hands. "Hey mom." She called, sliding onto a stool next to her.  
  
"Daughter of mine, how have you been?" Lorelai faced her with a broad smile on her face. "I have missed you immensely."  
  
Rory smiled back. "The feeling, mother of mine, is mutual." The smile never leaving her face, she looked over at Luke. "Please, please, please can I have some coffee?" Luke didn't say anything, merely shook his head and poured her a cup. "Thank-you." Glancing around the diner her eyes rested on the stairs. "Is Jess home?"  
  
"Yeah, go on up." Luke told her.  
  
Picking up her coffee, she headed in the direction of the stairs, but her mother's voice stopped her. "Oh great, send her upstairs, alone, to be with her hoodlum boyfriend. When my daughter births the Spawn of Satan, it will be all your fault." With a roll of her eyes, Rory disappeared behind the curtain.

-----

"Knock, knock." Rory called as she swung the door open.  
  
Jess looked up from the book he was engrossed in and let a smile grace his features for a split second before it disappeared. "Hey."  
  
"So...whatcha reading?" She asked as she crossed to room to stand in front of the couch he was lounging on.  
  
Jess' eyes had wandered back down to the page. "In Cold Blood." He answered.  
  
Rory nodded. "Capote. Good choice." Jess simply shrugged. Reaching out she gently pulled the book out of his hands. "Want to take a second to say a proper hello to your girlfriend, who I like to pretend you have missed so much?" Jess glanced down at the book that was now in her hands and then up to her face. Instead of answering, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down into his lap. His free hand was used to pull her mouth down to his.  
  
"Hello." He whispered pulling back slightly and letting his forehead rest against hers.  
  
"Awww, you do kinda miss me, huh?"  
  
Jess pretended to play it cool. "I guess, sometimes. I mean, you are a good kisser and I miss the physical contact."  
  
"Hey!" Rory started to get up. "If that's the only reason you keep me around, then I'm going back downstairs to my mom and I'll never step foot in this apartment ever again!"  
  
Arms around her waist pulled her back down again. "I keep you around for other reasons."  
  
"Like?"  
  
"Who else has more books than a library? I've almost finished this one and I was hoping I could borrow something from you."  
  
Rory turned her head to look at him. "I hate you."  
  
"No you don't."  
  
"Oh yes I do."  
  
"Oh no you don't."  
  
"Ok, I don't." She sighed, "But sometimes I don't like you."  
  
"It's all part of my charm."  
  
Rory laughed and leaned into his embrace. This was why she loved coming home.

-----

"Wow!" Lane exclaimed as she and Rory lounged on Rory's couch watching reruns of Saved By The Bell. "A Jessless afternoon."  
  
Rory blushed. "We don't spend that much time together."  
  
"Unless your sleeping or consuming insane amounts junk food with Lorelai, you two are together. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's cute and all..."  
  
"But overkill?" Rory suggested. "I just miss him when I'm at school. We really don't spend that much time together. Two days a week, maybe. But I guess when I am in town; it's sometimes all Jess all the time. Sorry."  
  
Lane shrugged. "It's cool. I just miss my best friend. And with Dave gone, all things happy suck."  
  
Rory put her arm around Lane's shoulder. "Heard from him recently?"  
  
"Nope, not even a postcard. I guess he's enjoying the sun and the surf."  
  
"Or he's busy with school."  
  
"Doubtful."  
  
Rory shook her head. "I thought you two decided it would be better if you weren't dating."  
  
"That doesn't mean I can't miss him or think about him or dream about him or..."  
  
"I think I get the picture." Rory cut her off. "If it means anything at all, you'll find your Mr. Right. Whether or not it's Dave, I don't know. But he's out there, I promise."  
  
"You think Jess is your Mr. Right?" Lane asked, leaning forward to grab some popcorn.  
  
Rory shrugged. "I'm 18, I'm not thinking about whether or not my boyfriend is forever. But right now, he's the only person I can see myself with. So I guess for the time being, he's it for me."  
  
"Do you love him?"

-----

"How was your weekend?" Paris asked absently as Rory dropped her bag by her bed. "Did you arrive in time for the annual hoe-down?"  
  
Rory flopped onto her bed. "Of course. It was a yee-hawing good time."  
  
"And Jess?" She flipped the page in her text book without looking up.  
  
"Jess is Jess. Same ole', same ole."  
  
Paris nodded. "Right right."  
  
"Your weekend?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
Rory frowned slightly. "What gives? Your not your usual obnoxious self."  
  
Paris finally dropped the textbook. "Jamie called."  
  
"And?"  
  
"I thought I made it perfectly clear to him that it was over. I practically dumped the guy on his birthday for crying out loud. But he...he...I don't know, he keeps coming back for more."  
  
Rory thought of Dean just then. How it was obvious to everyone but him, that she had feelings for Jess. "He loves you." She stated.  
  
"That's the problem." Paris sighed and picked up her book again.

-----

Rory leaned against the outside of the lecture hall, trying to catch her breath. With a glimpse at her watch, relief washed over her. She had made it on time. Actually she had three whole minutes to spare. Being late had seemed inevitable when she had taken off at a sprint across campus. Quickly she began readjusting her books and turn to grab the door handle when something to her left caught her eye. It couldn't be, but she thought she saw a familiar form, head down, hands thrust into pockets, hurrying away from where she was standing. Squeezing her eyes shut and reopening them, she pushed the figure out of her mind and swung the door open scanning the hall for an open seat.

-----

"So...this is Yale. Huh." Jess remarked as he took in the sights around him.  
  
Rory smiled proudly, like she was showing off a painting she had just finished, like it was her masterpiece. "Yeah, this is Yale."  
  
"Impressive. " He looked around one more time. "Anywhere to eat?"  
  
A look of shock passed over her face and she even felt a little hurt. "To eat? Um, yeah, of course. There are lots of places. But don't you want to look around first? I could give you a tour."  
  
"Nope. I'd rather just eat. I'm really hungry."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
Noticing the look on her face, he took her arm and looked downward into her face. "Rory, I get that you want to share Yale with me, but I'm never going to go here. Why waste my time looking at a school I'll never attend."  
  
"I guess that makes sense, but Yale is...is a huge part of my life. The biggest next to my life in Star's Hollow. I want you to see where I hang out and where my classes are, but if you want to eat..."  
  
Jess sighed softly at his girlfriend. This was important to her. "Give me the tour."  
  
"Really? Cause we can go to the Student Union for lunch."  
  
"No, I want to see all that Yale has to offer. But you have to walk backwards like they did at that Community College Luke made me tour."  
  
"Ok," Rory turned around and began walking backwards down the sidewalk, a large smile on her face. "Over here we have my residence hall. I'll show you dorm later. And then on your left we have..." Her sentence was cut off she ran into what felt like a wall. "You were supposed to warn me if I was going to run into someone." She took a step forward and began to turn around to apologize when a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.  
  
"Well, well, well, I see nothing has changed. You still can't stay away from me." He watched her whirl around and let his eyes meet hers. "It's good to see you again Mary."

Well? I know it's been done before, but I've just been itching to write a J/R/T triangle. Should I continue?


	2. Under My Tree

Disclaimer: I don't own GG or anything remotely related to it.

A/N: Thanks for all your reviews! They made me smile. As for the coupling...someone asked me if I knew where it was headed. I don't. I love both Trory and Lit, so it's all up in air. Pleads for your couple may help, but it won't be the deciding factor. Here's the next chapter...reviews are greatly appreciated.

-Chapter Two-

Jess frowned deeply at the blonde in front of him. Even looking straight into Rory's eyes, he seemed to know her. But yet...where did Mary come from? Searching his mind for a reference to an old friend or a childhood nickname, he came up empty. "I think you have the wrong person." Jess spoke up. "Her name's not Mary."

Tristan smirked. "You mean you haven't told him about us? I think my feelings are hurt." He watched as Rory blinked slowly, her eyes never leaving his face.

Finally, she gave her head a slight shake, discarding the shock. "Tristan."

"So you haven't forgotten me."

"What are you doing here?"

He gave a slight shrug. "Getting an education, I assume you have the same reasons."

"Obviously." Jess cleared his throat from behind Rory and touched her arm. "Oh, right. Jess this is Tristan, we went to Chilton together. Tristan, Jess, my boyfriend."

Tristan arched his eyebrow. "Finally ditched bagboy?"

Automatically she grew defenses. With a roll of her eyes, she replied. "His name was Dean."

"How could I have forgetten your beloved." He paused. "What happened?"

Jess allowed a rare smile to form, a smile Tristan noticed. This smug looking guy had achieved what he couldn't. He had stolen Rary away from the boy she claimed to love.

"That's really none of your business." She broke into his thoughts.

Tristan placed his hand over his heart, feigning hurt. "I was just inquiring as to what occured in the life of my old friend."

"Like you care."

"Oh, but I do."

Jess took a small step forward, feeling the need to break up this reunion. "We should finish looking around and get lunch. My shift starts at four."

"Right." She glanced at him before looking once more at Tristan. "We need to go. I'd say it was good seeing you again but..."

"Don't worry. You'll see me again. I wouldn't deprive you of the pleasure." He brushed past her and walked in the opposite direction.

Jess slipped his arm around her waist and led her away. "Who was that guy?"

Trying to appear casual, she looked over her shoulder at his disappearing form. "Just someone I never expected to see again."

-----

"Tristan's here? At Yale?" Paris questioned later that afternoon. "Wow."

"Yeah, wow." Rory echoed. Paris couldn't help but grin. "What?"

Paris just shook her head. "I was just wondering..."

"Wondering what?"

"Is he still...you know...the best looking guy you have ever seen?"

Rory laughed. "Say that to him and his ego will be too big to fit through the door."

"True...but is he?"

"I don't know about hottest guy ever, but he does still look good. Military school agreed with him." Rory remarked thinking back to seeing him standing in front of her. He still looked like the same Tristan from high school, but older, more of a man than his seventeen year old self had. Hard work had caused him to fill out, his muscles toned underneath his navy blue t-shirt. His skin had a deep tan and his hair was lighter, naturally bleached by the sun. But what had caused her to pause, caused her breath to hitch was something that had never and would never change. His eyes. They were still the same sparkling blue that caused her to lose her train of thought, just for a mere second. However once the second past and she realized who it was that those eyes belonged to, she always managed to come up with a snide remark that would set them off into a round of their infamous batering.

Paris nodded. "I figured it would. Did he say why he was here?"

"Because he wants to get an education."

"But why Yale?"

Rory shrugged one shoulder. "Didn't say."

"Maybe he came back for his Mary." Paris teased, taking notice of the ever so slight blush that creeped onto Rory's cheek.

-----

Rory leaned back against her Study Tree and smiled. The silence soothed her and the rough bark felt comforting against her back. With a sigh, she blocked out the world. The stress of the day, the large amounts of homework, the ackwardness of Jess meeting Tristan faded away as she concentrated on the cool breeze on her cheeks and the silence that settled around her. Just as her mind completely lost focus of the real world, a voice shattered her blissful solitude.

"Is this tree taken?"

Without opening her eyes she replied. "Yes."

"By who?"

"Someone who's not you."

Taking that as an invintation he sat down next to her, so close that if he shifted slightly his shoulder would brush against hers. A comfortable silence fell over the two of them, as he turned his head to the side to study her. She had cut her hair since he had last saw her, it now hung slightly above her shoulder and while she still looked beautiful, he missed the longer locks. He noticed that with her eyes closed and her face relaxed, she still held the same innocense that had first attracted him to her, that first caused him to nickname her Mary. "What?" She asked, finally.

"What do you mean?"

"I can feel you staring." She finally opened her eyes, turning to face him, crossing her legs indian style, and cocking her head.

"I was enjoying the sights."

This time she managed to surpess the blush. "I see you haven't changed at all. Military school couldn't rid you of your obnoxious personality and innuendos."

"And you wouldn't have it any other way." Rory just sighed, defeated. "I've missed you Mary." He told her, leaning in closer.

With a slight shove on his shoulder she dismissed the comment. "You've missed torturing me."

"I personally don't find our time together, torture."

Rory smiled. "It's your ego talking." She paused, still scrutinizing him. "Seriously, why Yale?"

"Same reason I went to military school." He answered.

"Your dad?"

Tristan leaned back against the tree now, but kept his gaze on her. "Hitler himself. How about you? Why aren't you away at Harvard?"

"Different reasons."

"That new boyfriend of yours keeps you on a short lease."

"No," Rory snapped, before reminding herself that this was Tristan. He said these things just to get a reaction. "Jess is great. Sweet and very supportive. If I had chosen Harvard we would have found a way to make it work."

"Ahhh, young love. Isn't it grand?"

Remembering his endless entorage of girls she inqured, "What? No bimbo in your life?"

"Not since we said good-bye."

"You're such a jerk."

"But you missed me." He fluttered his eyelashes at her like a school girl.

Rory couldn't stop the smile the spread over her face even if she had wanted to try. "Well, maybe a little. But don't let it go to your head."

"Too late." He shifted slightly to his right and felt her shoulder lightly press against hers before standing up quickly and walking away.

-----

Jess pulled away from Rory, the need for air overpowering him, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Luke's going to walk through that door any minute." He said softly, his face still a mere inches from hers. "He's going to walk in and freak out. Then I'll be lectured about taking advantage of the poor innocent Rory Gilmore."

Rory nodded, her mind still hazy from the kiss. "Even if it's me who does this..." She placed her hand on the back of his neck and pulled his mouth back down to hers, there lips meeting in another heated kiss.

"Even if you do that." Jess answered quickly before kissing her again.

This time Rory pulled away. "Then maybe we should stop."

Jess pretended to think about her suggestion. With a smirk he shook his head. "Maybe not." And once again his lips were on hers. Suddenly they heard loud footsteps on the stairs and jerked apart, placing themselves on opposite ends of the couch. "I can't believe Paris freaked out about that." Jess glanced up as the door opened just in time for Luke to hear his statement.

"Oh, hey guys. Sorry to interrupt."

With a shrug, Jess answered. "Don't worry about it." Luke grabbed something from his side of the room, shoved it in his pocket, and quickly exited the room, with a only a nod to the couple on the couch.

Rory giggled slightly. "He's so obvious. Why not just shout up the stairs, 'Hey, are you two making out up there?"

"He honestly thinks he's being subtle." Jess remarked scooting closer to Rory and placing his arm around her shoulder. "So...tell me about Tristan."

"Jealous?" She asked with her eyebrow arched.

"No, just curious."

Rory nodded with a knowing smile. "Right." She paused, trying to think of way to explain Tristan DuGrey. "We went to Chilton together before he was sent off to military school. We weren't really friends or anyhthing, more like sworn enemies who enjoyed being sworn enemies." An image of their kiss lofted through her mind but she pushed it away. "He definitely made the transfer from Stars Hollow High to Chilton very interesting."

"And Mary?"

Letting out a small laugh Rory exaplained. "You know, Virgin Mary. I guess I just glow with innocense."

Jess smiled softly at her, "I can see why he chose that. It fits."

"Shut-up." She snapped before cuddling into his arms.


	3. Into The Murky Depths

Disclaimer: I don't even own the computer I'm writing this on.

A/N- Wow, I haven't updated this story for almost a year, but I just had an itch to write tonight. If you started this story once already, feel free to reread, I know I had to. For new readers, I'm glad you decided to start my story. School's over in two weeks, and I have every intention to start working on this story on a regular basis then. Please read, enjoy, and review.

Ash-

Chapter 3-

Rory watched as the cashier swiped her meal card, waited a second, and handed it back to her. Slipping it into her pocket, she muttered a thank-you and spun around, slamming against another body and dropping her tray full of food to the floor. "Oh my gosh!" She explained, as she began to crouch down. "I am so sorry, today is just not my day and…"

"We really need to stop meeting this way." A voice interrupted her. She looked up to see Tristan leaning over and smirking.

"Oh, it's you. In that case I take my apology back. Are you going to help me or just watch?"

"Just watch."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Once a jerk always a jerk."

"You wound me." He kept his gaze on her figure for a short moment, and then knelt beside her. "Here." He said, handing her a fork that had landed a good three feet away. "Let me get you some more food."

Once everything was back on the tray, she stood up and began walking away. "Thanks, but I don't need your charity or mock niceness. Besides I wasn't hungry anyways."

Tristan took off after her. "It wasn't mock niceness, Rory."

"Tristan DuGrey, sincere? Since when?"

He shrugged as he fell into step next to her. "Since always, you just never took the time to notice."

"Whatever."

"It hurts me to think that you doubt me, especially when it comes to my feelings for you. I mean, I've always thought…"

"Hey Tristan," She stopped abruptly and turned to face him. "I don't care what you've always thought."

Tristan looked down at her, shocked. Sure, they'd joked around before, teased and tormented each other, but that was downright mean. Probing her eyes deeper he could pick out frustration and exhaustion. "Come with me." He took her by the arm and led her, protesting, out the door of the student center.

* * *

"Where are we?" Rory asked, taking in the scenery around her. There was green everywhere. They stood in a small clearing, trees surrounded them on three sides and the fourth side was a pond. A weeping willow stood next to is, its branches brushing the water, high grass grew all the way around it. 

Tristan watched she took everything in. "Beautiful isn't it?" He asked, his eyes never leaving her face. "Most people don't know this place is here. When I first came to Yale I got in a fight with my dad and took off. I ended up here. Now its where I come when I want to be alone. Kind of like your study tree."

Rory finally turned to face him, but glanced down when she saw his intend gaze on her face. "What?" She questioned self-consciously, checking her clothes and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

With a shrug he averted his eyes. "Nothing, I was just watching your reaction."

"Oh." An awkward silence fell over them. "If this is your special sanctuary, why did you bring me here?"

"You looked like you needed a break." Was his only reply. He walked a short ways away and settled into the plush grass.

From behind him she answered, "It's just been a long, frustrating day. And, unfortunately, there's no end in sight."

"Want to talk about it?" He inquired with out looking at her. His smile was barely contained when she sat down next to him.

"Stupid stuff," She replied. "I overslept, realized I had forgotten to do laundry last night, had a pop quiz in English, got into a fight with Paris, got back my math test from last week and the results were far from good, and then dropped my food all over the floor. And I still have to go to Friday night dinner at my grandparents tonight, an event which is akin to torture. And it feels like I've had this day a lot lately. I'm just really stressed out is all."

Tristan didn't say anything for a moment and then, "So I guess I was right, as usual."

"Right about what?"

"You needing a break."

"Mark this day down, because it will never happen again, understand?" When he nodded, she continued. "You were…right." The last word was almost inaudible.

"Excuse me?" He cupped his hand to his ear. "What I was that?"

"I said you were right." She said more loudly, at his smirk she huffed, stood up and walked to the edge of the pond. "Like I said, you'll never hear those words again."

Tristan stood up and started towards her. "But I'm always right."

"Ha!" She laughed, "Try once in a blue moon."

"What are you talking about? I'm a smart guy. I'm kind-hearted, smart, funny, charismatic, good-lucking, I mean, really, I'm perfect. And I'm always right."

"No, try mean-spirited, stupid, dry, repulsive, and oh yeah, u-g-l-y, you ain't got no alibi, you ugly, ye…" Her words were cut off as he placed his hand over mouth.

"Didn't you're mother ever tell you it wasn't nice to lie." His other hand was wrapped around her waist, her body pressed up against his. Slowly, he pushed her closer to the water, not letting go even as she struggled against him. When they were less that an inch from the edge of the pond he removed his hand from her mouth and turned her to face him, his other hand still around her waist.

Rory glanced over shoulder at the water looming right behind her. "I can't help it if I see all your flaws."

"I am not ugly."

This made Rory giggle. "Out of all the things I listed you're upset because I called you ugly. I attacked your whole personality and you don't care?"

"Take back the ugly comment." He ordered.

"No!"

"Take it back or into the water you go."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh wouldn't I?"

Rory glanced up at him defiantly. "No, you wouldn't."

"Last chance." He warned.

Rory glanced over her shoulder again, only this time it was with a look of uncertainty. Turning back to him she wiped the joking expression off her face. "You're ugly." She told him with a shrug.

"Suit yourself." Before Rory could reply, Tristan took a step forward, knocking her off balance and sending her toppling into the murky water.

"You jerk!" Rory shrieked, wildly flaring her arms around. She dropped from his view as her head became submerged under the water. A few seconds later she emerged. "Tristan," she shouted, her arms slapping the water's surface. "Tristan, help, I can't swim."

Doubt crept into his mind as he watched her splashing around, but when he saw her submerge again and remain under water for several seconds, he leaped into action, jumping into the water. As soon as he entered, Rory reappeared. "Gotcha." She exclaimed with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Brat!" His palm smacked the water, sending a large splash in her direction.

"Me? You're the one who knocked me into the water in the first place."

"Yeah, but…but you hurt my feelings. I am not ugly."

Sending large splash in her direction she burst into fits of laughter. "Talk about superficial and vain."

* * *

"Mmmm…" Rory muttered as an ringing began to play in her head. "Go away." Rolling over she lay her head on the shoulder of the person next to her. Soon the annoying ring began to sound more and more like her cell phone as her head cleared. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see the sun had long since set and there was a gray jacket thrown over her shoulders. Lifting her head, she saw that the comfortable shoulder belonged to Tristan. With a sleepy groan the afternoon's events came back to her and she ran her hand through her still slightly damp hair. Finally she sat up and dug her cell phone out of her purse. "Hello?" She mumbled, sleep still evident in her voice. 

"Rory, where are you?" Jess' voice came to her over the phone. "You're mom got worried when you didn't show up for dinner and you didn't answer your phone. She called here looking for you."

"Oh," Rory forced herself to focus. "I just fell asleep is all."

"Are you sure you're ok?" The concern was evident in Jess' voice and a feeling of guilt crept into her stomach as she looked from the jacket still in her lap to the sleeping form next to her.


	4. Rory the Hypocrite

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N-2 months is better than two years right? I'm lacking inspiration and I have an idea for a 4400 fic, but I want to work on this. I know where this is going, I just need to figure out how to get there. If this chapter sucks, I apologize. It's nearing two in the a.m. and I'm beat and searching for my muse. Also, sorry for the lack of length. But hey, if you do read it and don't think it sucks, I'm a big fan of reviews.

-Ash-

-Chapter 4-

"Where were you?" Lorelei fired at her daughter the moment she walked through the door.

Rory shrugged and tossed her purse onto the hall table. "Nowhere."

"You may be able to lie to the outside world, but we keep no secrets in this house."

Brushing past her mom, Rory made her way to the couch. "If you must know, I was with Tristan." She watched as her mom's mouth dropped open, but she rushed on. "I was having a rough day, he took me somewhere to, I don't know, relax, and we fell asleep. Nothing more, nothing less. No big deal. No harm, no foul."

"Jess saw it that way?" Lorelei asked skeptically, an eyebrow arched. Rory's quickly averted eyes was answer enough. "Mmm-hmm, just as I thought."

"What's just as you thought?"

"He doesn't know. Nothing says a strong relationship like secrets and lies."

"No secrets, no lies." Rory sighed, exasperated. "There's just nothing to tell."

Lorelei nodded knowingly. "A little motherly advice? Nothing is never nothing. And if it is really nothing, tell Jess before he thinks it's a something."

"Too many things."

"Me and Jess, oil and water. But he cares about you babe, if you got anything on your chest, tell him."

Rory nodded. "I get it."

-----

Words blurred together as Rory's eyes skimmed over the same line, of the same paragraph, on the same page of her book, The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Ten minutes flew by without the slightest rustling of a turning page on Rory's part. Jess finally looked up from his reading to study his ever so quiet girlfriend. "Rory?" He finally broke the silence. "You ok?"

"Uh-huh, just in the reading zone."

"Funny, 'cause you've been on page 57 for at least ten minutes."

The book flipped shut and was discarded on the arm of the couch. She looked at Jess out of the corner of her eye and then looked straight ahead again. Being near him and remember the night with Tristan and her mother's words were making it hard to concentrate. The words typed on the pages were nothing more than squiggles. Usually have Jess so close was comforting, today it was nerve-wracking. 'Tell him' ran through her mind as a never-ending mantra and Rory could feel Jess' intense gaze in her face as she did nothing but stare into the empty space in front of her. "I didn't just fall asleep." She blurted out, earning herself a confused look from the person sitting on the other end of the couch. His eyebrows were drawn together and he leaned slightly forward.

"I think I need to buy a vowel, because I am no where near ready to solve the puzzle."

"Friday, you know, the day before yesterday when I was a no show at the weekly dinner. I said I was studying and fell asleep, I wasn't, I didn't, I lied. And you know me, I hate lying, loathe it really, and here I am, Rory the hypocrite."

Jess nodded and stood up, walking away a few steps and then turning around and walking back. "Ok, so where were you?"

There was a slight hesitation on Rory's part as she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. Her eyes lowered from his gaze as she answered. "With Tristan."

"Tristan?" He repeated the name slowly, as if testing the weight of it on his tongue. "Cocky, blonde guy from Yale?"

"Yeah." She watched him closely, gauging his reaction. When he looked ready to utter some angry words she cut him off. "Nothing happened I swear. I was frustrated and he took him to his thinking place, it's like a Study Tree, but not. We talked a little, joked around, and then fell asleep. Your call woke me up. See Jess, nothing. Not even worth mentioning really, but I didn't want you to think it was a something or anything."

Jess ran a hand through his naturally disheveled hair. "Nothing?" He asked, his eyes finding hers and holding them there, searching for the truth in the blue depths.

Rory nodded as she stood and approached him. "Nothing." She answered firmly, her hand reaching out over the divide between them. It touched his elbow and slid down to grasp his hand. "I just don't want to keep things from you."

Jess smirked at her and tugged her closer. "Me neither, so I should probably tell you now. Britney Spears hit on me the other day. I told her I was flattered but taken. Relax, you have no need to worry, I only have eyes for you, and besides…her music…kinda sucks."

Rory swatted him playfully on the arm. "Funny, really."

"I thought so."

She rolled her eyes before closing the gap between them and pressing her lips against his.

-----

"Hello Mary." Tristan fell into step beside Rory as she hurried to her first class of the day.

"Tristan, hi." She replied, glancing up at him.

He placed his hand on her arm, compelling her to stop. "Having a better day today?"

She shifted her books from one arm to the other, hers eyes wandering for a moment. "Yeah, I think a break and dip in some pond water was just what the doctor ordered."

"Are you sure it was the pond water and not falling asleep in my arms?"

Her cheeks instantly became tinged with pink. "That's not what happened."

"That's exactly what happened, Mary. Why deny it? It felt so right."

"In your dreams."

"Every night."

Rory smiled in spite of herself. The bantering, teasing, arguing, whatever one chose to call was so familiar. It felt natural, easy, almost fun. "You call it a dream, I call it a nightmare."

"Meaning I do appear to you late at night when you're asleep."

Rory began walking away from him at the same pace as before, not surprised that his presence remained beside her. "It ends with me waking up screaming."

"My name? Cause I can make that dream a reality."

"No, more like help me, somebody, please. Save me from this creep and his oversized ego."

They arrived in front of her building and Tristan proceeded to walk with her up the steps, towards the door. "You say creep like it's bad thing."

"Enjoy some alone time, Tristan, I've got a class and no desire to finish this conversation."

"Ahh, but we will. And that, Mary, is a promise."

Sarcasm dripped from her next two words. "Lucky me."


	5. Romance For Dummies

A/N-See, this is me updating in a reasonable time frame. And they said it couldn't be done! Read, review, enjoy! -Ash-

Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls I'd be writing episodes not fanfiction.

-Chapter 5-

Jess sat on the couch tapping his foot on the floor. His arms were crossed over his chest and he stared off into space, not even blinking when Luke entered the room. A hand waving in front of his face finally snapped him back to reality. "What? Yeah?" He focused his eyes on his uncle.

"You looked a little lost there."

"What are you doing up here?"

Luke paused on his way to the refrigerator. "Uh, I live here." He reminded Jess.

"The diner's closed? What time is it?" He looked at his watch and his eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, I guess I really zoned out. I'm going out." He stood up and prepared to leave.

"Out where?" The arguement was something that was getting old. It felt like they went through this everynight. Or at least everynight Jess was actually home when Luke got done at the diner.

"Out."

"No, we're not doing this again. Either you tell me where you're going or you're not going."

Jess paused, his book halfway to his back pocket. There was no way he wanted to discuss with Luke what was on his mind, but he needed to get out of the apartment. He needed to see her, or at least be able to get lost in his thoughts of her. Besides, Luke wouldn't be able to help him. He was clueless when it came to relatopships. In fact, Luke had never been on a date since Jess had moved in, not to mention the sad pining over Lorelei. "Well?" Luke prodded. Jess groaned and sat back down, the book now nowhere near his pocket but still held in his right hand. All the lies that formulated in his mind never would have satisfied Luke. He couldn't say he was going to see Rory because she was staying at Yale for the weekend to work on paper due Monday, he had no friends in the microscopic, small-minded town that despised him, Luke would view a walk as pointless, and the list went on and on.

"I just need to think. I need to get some air and clear my head."

"You can think in here. Open a window."

"Not the same."

"Close enough."

"You hate me, don't you?"

Luke nodded, sitting on his bed and taking off his shoes. "Yeah, I hate you. That's why I let you live here, rent free and pay for everything from food to clothes. All because of this deep desire to see you miserable and tortured."

"Thanks for finally admitting your true motives."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Luke ventured near the line the two fairly ever crossed. Personal lives stayed personal and bonding was kept to the barest minimun possible. The only time that line was ever crossed was when Luke thought Rory could be hurt or a swan was involved.

"Nope."

"Are you sure? Are things ok between you and Rory?"

"Peachy." He rolled his eyes and stood up, once again. This time he headed towards his side of the room.

"That sounds sarcastic, are you sure everything..."

"Everything is fine. I'm fine, Rory's fine, Rory and I are fine. Now, if you'll excuse me Hemingway is calling for my attention." Flipping on the light beside is bed, he curled onto his side, squirming for a few moments to get comfortable. Once that had been acomplished, he opened the book to the page that had been marked, pulled the pencil from behind his ear, and began to read, stopping after a short while to jot something down on the top of the page. Luke watched him briefly before finishing his bedtime routine and shutting his own lamp off, turning to face the wall to avoid the yellow light flooding from the other side of the room.

-----

"What's wrong?" Rory asked, tightening her grip on Jess' hand to pull his attention away from the water and towards her.

"Huh?" He looked into her blue eyes and brought his hand up to tuck a loose strand of hair away from her concerned face.

Rory's eyes fluttered shut at the touch. It sometimes amazed her how he made her feel, like she was fifteen again and the cutest boy in school gave her butterflies. That thought made her remember the guilt she had often felt that the boy who gave her butterflies wasn't her boyfriend of the time, Dean. "I asked what was wrong. You're more brooding than normal. What gives?" She looked at him imploringly.

"Nothing's wrong. Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"And by everyone you mean?"

"Well, just you and Luke."

"Awww, I feel special. Like I mean the world to you...or at least half the world."

"And who are you sharing this world with?"

"Luke."

"I rank you above Luke."

"Ok, then Ernest Hemingway."

"That's better."

Rory laughed. "At least I share your world with a well-respected author, however boring he may be."

"Watch it, insult the man in my life and we'll have problems."

"Should it worry me that you're so protective of a guy?"

Jess shook his head, "Nah, he doesn't kiss as well as you do."

"I should hope not. He's dead." What prompted the onslaught of Jess' affair with Hemingway reappeared into Rory's mind. Over the past week Jess had been distracted, often not even replying with his trademark 'huh.' Their phone conversations were ackward and now Rory discovered that Luke was worried about him too. "But, back to the subject at hand?"

"We had a subject?" Jess asked, trying to avoid the question he'd been dodging all week. He only had to be successful one more day. When Rory suggested going to the bridge that afternoon, he'd thought about saying no, but that was something he'd never been very good at. Giving into her, like he found himself doing often, he agreed. After treating her to lunch at Luke's, they'd walked hand-in-hand to their spot. The next half hour was spent with their hands joined, Rory leaning against the piling watching Jess as she talked animatedly about anything and everything. Jess sat with his feet dangling over the water as he studied its depths and ripples intently and rubbed the pad of his thumb in small circles on the back of her hand.

"Are you really ok? I'm worried about you."

He smiled at the gentle way she cocked her head and gazed at him. He knew in that moment that he didn't deserve her. He'd realized it before, but was always able to brush it aside, pretend it wasn't true. But hearing the sincerity in her voice and seeing it reflected in her eyes, he was unable to deny it. She was good and sweet and pure, he was someone who could corrupt her with the things he'd seen and done. "I'm fine, I promise." He assured her, leaning in to close the gap between them. His lips brushed against hers in a whiser of a kiss. "Come over tomorrow night?"

----

Rory entered through the door into the small apartment that Luke and Jess shared. Normally the room looked exactly the same as it did the time before, the only slight difference was the pile of discarded clothes in the corner had changed, but today however there was a lot of new and intriguing things and her eyes took the time to slowly take everything in. The lights were dimmed with candles burning, giving the room a soft, romantic hue. A clean, white tablecloth covered the wood. On top of that was two more candles, long and white. A single rose lay in the middle. Her hand pressed lightly to her stomach as she turned her head to look at Jess. He looked slightly out of place in the romantic scene he had set up. Owning no suit, he settled for the dressiest outfit he could find. Khakis and blue knit sweater, sneakers sticking out from under his pants. "Jess?" Her voice was soft, not wanting to speak to loudly in fear of shattering the atmosphere. "What is all this?"

Walking towards her, he reached and gently tugged on her hand, leading her towards the table. As he pulled out her chair for, he explained. "I've never done anything for you Rory. At least nothing special. Very rarely do we even go out on real dates. There's the occassional concert and town celebration, but other than that, nothing really."

"We don't need to go anywhere, as long as..."

He raised his hand to cut her off. "I know, but instead of protesting can you let me do this one little thing for you? I'm trying to be romantic here and that's already hard enough for me.'

She smiled and looked down at her lap. "Ok. I'm sorry."

"Thank-you." He gave a slight nod and turned around, taking two plates from the counter. One was placed in front of Rory, the other in front of Jess as he sat down across from her.

"You cooked? For me?" She asked, eyeing the steak, baked potatoes, and green beans.

"You think there's another person in this world I would cook for?"

Rory bit her bottom lip. "I didn't know you knew how."

"Let's keep it that way. If Luke finds out he may try to stick me in the kitchen."

"It'll be our little secret."

"Ok, enough talk. Try the food."

With a giggle, Rory cut off a piece of the steak and put it into her mouth. Her eyes closed as she nodded in approval. "Delicious. Even better than Adrianna's."

"Who's Adrianna?"

"Grandma and Grandpa's new maid. She's an amazing cook, but this...this is better."

"Glad you like it." He smiled at her, as she continued to eat. Trying the potatoe, the beans, and more of the steak. After a few more bites, she stopped eating and studied him. "What?" He asked, putting his fork down after only bringing it to his mouth once.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, as long as it's not the key ingrediant to my secret marinade."

"What brought this on? It's not that I'm ungrateful or that I don't love the fact that you would do something so incredibly sweet and thoughtful for me, but why now? Why this?"

Jess had been prepared for the question, but had yet to figure out the answer. He knew what he was thinking and feeling when he'd arranged for Luke to be out all or at least most of the night, but putting it into coherent thoughts to share with her, was something he hadn't done. "I don't know...I just...I never once questioned our relationship until you told me about what happened with Tristan on Friday night."

Rory suddenly felt ashamed and guilty. "Jess, I..."

"No, don't apologize. I'm not mad and I know that nothing happened. I trust you, completely. It just made me realize something. I take our relationship for granted sometimes. It never occured to me that you might want more than sitting on the couch reading or making out. I need to call more and take you places and be a better boyfriend." He rambled, slightly aware that he was starting to sound like her.

"I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend."

"Yes, Rory, you could. I don't want you to go looking for one, but I know you could do better than me. Tristan showed me that." Rory bit back a laugh, Tristan was not boyfriend material. "Tonight, I wanted to show you that I can...I...I wanted to show you that...I love you." The words were out now. Even if he had wanted to take them back, he couldn't. Rory had heard all three of them and the only thing left for him to do was wait. Seconds ticked by and he wondered how many years he aged while she contemplated and thought and weighed his words and her feelings in her mind.

The wait was over. Rory wasn't sure what caused the pause. She assumed it was the surprise at his words. They were out of the blue and out of character. The knowledge that Jess cared about her was nothing new, it was him articulating it that had taken her aback. Looking across the table into his chocolate eyes she didn't feel the urge to run like she had that night in the junk yard when Dean had confessed his love to her. A radiant, beaming smile stretched arcoss her face as she bounced slightly in her seat due to excitement. "I love you too, Jess."


End file.
